Schools and Standards

[Guest guest]

I have mixed thoughts and feelings reading all the posts on these subjects.

On the one hand, I appreciated the scientific rigor and specific Western

medical knowledge provided by the biomedical courses in my school, although

they were not always taught (or learned) at the highest level. I felt the

same way about the " straightforward " classes in CM theory, points and

herbs. I did have a preference, however, which is why I applied to CM

medical school rather than Western medical school. It was largely up to me

how thoroughly I would really learn the material, beyond a basic minimum,

which ended up being dependent on how much time and energy I could manage

for it that particular semester. I do well with that kind of fact-based

learning, and it can be a relief to deal with questions for which there is

only one " right " answer. Certainly all the memorization involved both in

Western and Chinese medicine is a challenge. The science (however

different) inherent in both approaches is important to know.

 

However, the " art " part of medicine is important too. What that entails, I

am not very clear. I'm not sure how it can be addressed in an academic

setting. I think there are other, experiential, non-fact-based learned

skills which are important in medicine and which can be acquired through

certain types of study, and which should not be assumed or overlooked.

(This seems to be a fermenting issue in Western medical schools at

present.) As someone with a background in movement and bodywork, I noticed

that patients responded very differently to my touch (and all the dynamics

involved) than to that of someone with no experience, and that it sometimes

made a significant difference in the patient's progress, whether physical,

emotional, mental or spiritual. I noticed that practitioners/students with

considerable experience in Tai Ji or Qi Gong elicited very different

responses and reactions in their patients. I noticed that the questions

with more than one " right " answer (i.e., it depends) stimulated more deep

thinking and learning on my part. And I also learned as much or more from

the patients as from my teachers.

 

I had one teacher who taught, not through linear, fact-based presentations

but through circular, metaphoric stories and elaborations (with essay, not

single-question tests) that drove the " scientific " types in the class

crazy. " That guy is on drugs, " they would mutter. I am fairly comfortable

with ambiguity, so I loved it. It seemed closer, somehow, to " authentic "

Chinese Daoist thought (although at the time I had no idea what that really

was, and may still be seriously confused). At any rate, I learned more

from him about the human dynamics of medicine in that one semester than

from any other teacher, although what I learned wasn't really factual.

 

In thinking back on my school experience, I could express a lot of wishes:

more time to study, Tai Ji and Qi Gong every semester, Tui Na every

semester, Chinese langauge every semester (those who were already fluent

were way ahead of everyone else in their studies), more time with patients,

some periodic administrator-level or mentor advising, some time with senior

teachers devoted to prognosis..... it all comes up against the hard bone of

limited time and money, on the part both of the student and of the

institution, also coming up against state and profession educational and

licensing standards and requirements which mandate certain structures. I

felt fortunate, at the time, that the opportunity was available to me to

learn this subject, since the laws had only recently changed in my state to

permit such schools to exist openly. This is also, frankly, a hard field

to learn really well (and not just pass the tests). It takes years to

learn anything seriously well enough to be able to master it, or even come

close. It is true that not all students come in knowing that or are

prepared for the level of study required. While I had a master's degree in

another field already, it had been years since I had studied at such an

intense level and I had to re-learn how to do this effectively. While

achieving a " professional " standard in any field is very important, it is

also crucial to sculpt those standards to fit the nature of the profession,

not just to match some other one or to fit it into some economic model.

Should we base our decisions on the quality of work to be provided or on

the need for people to make a living? Some combination of both, I suppose,

since we live in a money-based society. I don't know the answers. But I

appreciate the questions and hearing people's responses. It seems to

further.

 

Pat

 

 

 

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